Design and Testing a Novel Armature on Railgun

Based on understanding the characteristics of the impulse force generated by pulsed current of the armature, it is valuable to explore effective ways to improve the armature structure to enhance the stability and prevent from the transition and erosion during launching. This paper first lists a series of conversional armature and the characteristics of these armatures are illuminated. A C-shaped armature is simulated based on the electrical-magnetic-mechanical coupled analysis method. The simulation shows that the stress is mainly distributed in the area between the cross member and arm, it may lead to local deformation. A novel concave armature is proposed and the simulation results indicate that the stress is mainly distributed in the inner side of arm and the front of armature. It is beneficial to push heavy load and avoid deformation and fracture. A device is built to validate the feasibility of armature. The armature is staying still to simulate pushing the infinite heavy load. The experimental results show that the concave armature endures higher current and has the stronger capability of pushing load compared with the C-shaped armature. This type of armature provides a valuable reference for future armature design.